Tomas Kopecky
| birth_place = Ilava, Czechoslovakia | career_start = 2001'' | former_teams = Detroit Red Wings Chicago Blackhawks | draft = 38th overall | draft_year = 2000 | draft_team = Detroit Red Wings }} Tomas Kopecky (born on February 5, 1982) is a Slovak professional ice hockey right winger for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also played with the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, both of whom won the Stanley Cup with him. Playing Career 'Detroit Red Wings' After being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Tomas played two seasons of junior hockey with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He turned professional with the American Hockey League (AHL), initially with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks before being assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Tomáš played four seasons with the Griffins before making his NHL debut with the Red Wings in 2005–06, appearing in one game. The following season on December 14, 2006 in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, he was injured a minute into the third period of the Red Wings' 3–2 victory. Tomas lost his footing and hit the boards as he approached the Chicago blue line and Blackhawks defenseman Jim Vandermeer then fell on top of him. He was motionless on the ice for a few minutes before being helped to the dressing room by members of the Detroit training staff. He had surgery the next day to repair a broken clavicle. As a result of this injury he was limited to just 26 games in 2006–07 NHL season. Tomas had previously worn the number 28 with Detroit, but switched to 82 after the Red Wings acquired free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski. On April 3, 2008, near the end of the 2007–08 NHL season, Tomas tore his Anterior cruciate ligament during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This injury was repaired during surgery on April 22, 2008. On June 4, 2008, he won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings, though he did not play a game in the postseason. 'Chicago Blackhawks' On July 1, 2009, Tomas signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, paying $1.2 million per season. He played in 74 games for the Blackhawks in his first year with the team, posting 21 points, 28 PIM, 2 game-winning goals, and a shooting percentage of 10.5%. Into the postseason, Tomáš was a regular starter on Chicago's third or fourth line of forwards. He scored a crucial goal to put Chicago up by 2 in the Western Semifinals against Vancouver, but his most crucial would be in his first game back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for all four games of the sweep of the San Jose Sharks. Replacing the injured Andrew Ladd, Tomas netted the 6-5 game-winning goal in the game one victory of the Stanley Cup Finals. Ladd returned the next game, but Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville kept Tomas in the lineup to play every game of the six game series. He finished the playoffs with solid statistics. In 17 games, he tallied six points, 8 PIM, 1 game-winning goal, and a shooting percentage of 14.3%. On June 9, 2010, at the age of 28, he won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks and hoisted the Cup for the second time in his life. Tomáš entered the 2010–11 NHL season in the last year of his contract with the Stanley Cup defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. He opened the first game of the year on the team's first line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, putting in over twice the amount of time on the ice that he had averaged the year before. On December 26, 2010, in his 36th game of the year, Tomas tallied his 21st point of the season, matching his career high total for a single season. He played in the Blackhawks' last game of the season on April 10, 2011 against his former team the Red Wings. Chicago needed a win to decisivley clinch a playoff spot. The Hawks lost the game 4-3, but still clinched the 8th seed of the playoffs due to a Dallas Stars loss on the same day. Tomas ended the season with career highs in games played, goals, assists, points, shot & PIM. He has been on a playoff-bound team for five consecutive seasons. Tomas was taken out of Game 1 with an upper-body injury of the Blackhawks' first playoff series. He never returned and the Blackhawks lost in 7 games to the Vancouver Canucks. 'Florida Panthers' Following the 2010–11 season, Tomas was poised to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2011. On June 27, 2011, the Blackhawks traded him to the Florida Panthers who obtained the exclusive negotiating rights with the player until he becomes a free agent. In return, the Blackhawks received from the Panthers a 7th round pick in either the 2012 or 2013 NHL Entry Draft. On June 29, 2011, the Florida Panthers signed him to a 4-year deal worth a total of $12,000,000. Personal life Tomas is married to Maria and has two sons: Jakub (born on February 8, 2004) and Tobias (born on February 20, 2009). Awards and Achievements }} *2008 Stanley Cup Champion with the Detroit Red Wings *2010 Member of the Slovakia Winter Olympic Team *2010 Stanley Cup Champion with the Chicago Blackhawks Career statistics 'Regular season and playoffs' 'International statistics' Category:1982 births Category:Florida Panthers players Category:Detroit Red Wings players Category:Detroit Red Wings draft picks Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Slovak ice hockey players